EBP Compendium: Summary of Clinical Practice Guideline

Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists; Department of Health (UK); National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
RCSLT Clinical Guidelines: 5.3 School-aged Children with Speech, Language & Communication Difficulties
Taylor-Goh, S., ed. (2005).
RCSLT Clinical Guidelines. Bicester, Speechmark Publishing Ltd.

AGREE Rating: Highly Recommended

Description:

This evidence-based guideline pertains to the assessment and management of school-aged children with speech, language, and communication difficulties.  

Recommendations:

• Speech Screening/Assessment
  • If the child presents with phonological processing difficulty, the phonological production and processing and literacy skills should be assessed.
  • If the child has a discrete production problem, the clinician should assess phonological processing and articulation.
• Speech Treatment
  When treating phonology and/or articulation consider the child's phonological system, phonological processes, intelligibility, phonetic system, phonetic errors, self-monitoring, pre-literacy skills, and literacy skills.
• Language Screening/Assessment
  • Assessment of communication will consider non-verbal communication, conversation and discourse, the relation of language to context, the social rules of communication, and compensatory strategies the child uses.
  • Assessment of the environment will consider the physical space of the environment and the child, the ratio of staff to children, the sensory distractions, linguistic environment, organization of school-day, and educational placement.
  • Assessment of language should include receptive and expressive communication, grammar, and vocabulary.
• Language Treatment
  • Consideration should be given to developing communication skills and/or alternative strategies to support learning and socialization within an appropriate and relevant context for the child.
  • The clinician should work collaboratively to adapt the environment to maximize communication and learning.
  • Management of language may involve instruction and therapy in the areas of speech perception, vocabulary, grammar, narrative structure, figurative language, social language, and gestural communication.
  • The clinician may also provide strategies or skills to improve learning and organization of new information or advise on classroom management options or environmental modification.

Keywords: Language Disorders; Speech Disorders

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Added to Compendium: November 2010